Back to Your Old Ways
by vratsababe
Summary: Narcissa had a feeling a storm would break out over the World Cup... who knew she would be so correct? GOF setting


This one was written back in mid 2008 but I never uploaded it. I think it's one of my favorites, however, seeing as how it comes from my second favorite Harry Potter book. Enjoy and review please. :D

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She should have known a storm would break out over the World Cup.

"Lucius, would you like me to pack for you?" Narcissa said, putting her own bag open at the end of the bed.

"No, no. That's not necessary, Narcissa," He hopped off the bed where he had been reading and walked into the open closet.

"Wow, doing things for yourself, Luce," Narcissa folded her arms in mock surprise. "Should I alert _The Prophet?"_

"Very funny, Narcissa. You should really look into entertainment with those kinds of jokes," He replied with mock applause. "I've got things I need to bring with me, just in case."

"In case of what? A storm of full-grown Erumpants falling from the sky? Need to bring an umbrella," She flicked her wand and a few robes flew off her racks and folded themselves neatly into her bag.

"In case the game runs long and we need to duck out," He trailed off, smirking maniacally.

"Lucius, you demon," She smiled with venom. "Seriously, what is so important that you pack?"

"Never mind, Cissa. Maybe I just want to take a little of the stress off you," He said sincerely, walking to her and rubbing her shoulders affectionately. "After all, you'll likely be packing for Draco… Although I would say he should pack his own bag; he always does such a terrible job. He should learn to be a better planner."

She turned into his arms and kissed him passionately.

"This is your campsight, Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy," Ludo Bagman said as they stopped before the large purple tent. Two magnificent peacocks were tethered to the entryway and a fountain sat inside the open courtyard. It had two stories to it and it was the largest tent in their immediate sight. Lucius nodded his head, "This will do, thank you Ludo."

"Anything, Lucius," Ludo smiled widely and fakely. "Would you care to place any bets before the game, Sir?"

"Fifteen galleons on Ireland," Draco said, reaching into his pocket. Narcissa smacked his hand before he could extend it to Bagman.

"You are fourteen, you are not gambling," She said sharply.

"Your mother's right, Draco," Lucius agreed. "However, _I_ will place fifty on Ireland."

Bagman wrote down the bet and took a sack of galleons from Lucius, pocketing them greedily, "Enjoy the game!"

Narcissa glared at Lucius, disapproving of his gambling just as much as Draco's attempt. Lucius caught her eye and shrugged, "My money…"

"It's the principle, Lucius," She turned and walked into the tent, taking Draco by the shoulder with her.

"Spectacular show," Lucius said as he sat down in a leather chair outside his tent. Draco was with Theodore Nott and Narcissa was reading inside. A fair few of his companions from his Death Eater days had come over to indulge in a drink outside at the Malfoy tent. They grabbed chairs and sipped on their brandy, chatting animatedly about the game.

"Best offense I've seen in a good twenty years," Avery noted, leaning back lazily in his chair. "I think the last time I saw a play like that must have been…"

"French Nationals, '80?" Goyle grunted, pouring himself a second glass of schnapps.

"French Nationals, yes," Lucius agreed. "We were all busy men those days but we still found time to catch a good game of Quidditch, yes?"

They all laughed heartily. For a good hour or so, the liquor flowed freely between the men who were all too ready to let their guards down after protecting their identities so closely for so long. A cloud of cigar smoke intermingled with the strong scent of vodka on their breath and the sound of rambunctious chatter. Narcissa peered down at the lawn from the balcony of the master bedroom. Her hair was pulled back from her face and the gold silk bathrobe she wore rippled lightly in the breeze and she sighed deeply. Draco was at the Nott tent and seeing how Mr. Nott was sitting drunk next to Lucius and there was no Mrs. Nott, the boys could be just about anywhere. She crossed her arms, let go of her worry and collapsed onto the bed in sleep.

She awoke not more than fifteen minutes later to the sound of rustling in the closet. Lucius knocked over a chair in his stupor and she sat up abruptly in the bed.

"Lucius, what in the hell are you doing?" She said angrily. "Is Draco back yet?"

"I'm going out with… with…" He stammered. Narcissa jumped from the bed and joined him in the closet, "You're piss drunk, Lucius. You're going nowhere."

"Narcissa, Cissy, I think I am capable of making my own decisions," He said finally. "I am going to go with Avery and Nott and the others and… and… You look really good in that."

"Lucius…"

"No really, you… I…" He growled lowly in her ear and she pushed him back.

"You smell like alcohol, Lucius," Her hands remained on his chest, which was armored with thick patterned leather. She felt the etchings and looked into his eyes in the low light, panicked, "This is… these are… have you… did you…?"

"We're just going out to have some fun, Narcissa," He said, pulling the Death Eater hood over his face. "But I'm thinking I might have more appealing things to do here…"

"You disgust me, Lucius. I can't believe you scared me like that! After all that we went through after Draco was born… after all of the things we went through to get our name cleared…"

Lucius put a hand to her lips and said acidly, "Do you not believe in the cause anymore? Is that what you're trying to say?"

She took his hand from her face and lowered her voice to a whisper, "Of course I believe in it, Lucius, but if you're going to go in the open when there's nothing you're trying to defend, when you're just trying to have a good time then I am seriously disappointed in you."

He said nothing, but turned to leave, putting the blank porcelain-like mask over his pointed features. Narcissa waited for a moment after hearing a loud crack outside the bedroom door to pull on a pair of robes and leave to find her son.

She walked through the festivities in the rows of tents at a breakneck speed. Her saffron robes cracked at her ankles as she strode, heading directly for the Notts' tent. Sure enough, Draco was nowhere to be seen. She headed around the parameter of the Irish festivities and to the much more somber Bulgarian tents. A great deal of the rows of tents was void of any sort of life; some people had even packed their tents to head home. He wasn't likely to be around there unless he was trying to meet that Krum kid he had talked about the whole way back to the tent after the match. As she headed back to the neutral-grouping of tents, a loud explosion sounded and green flames shot into the air far away from where she stood. She gritted her teeth and began to run towards the blast; Lucius was likely responsible for it.

It was very difficult to get anywhere near the blast as people were running, screaming and Ministry wizards were everywhere. She had to find Draco, but he would probably be trying to get closer to see what was going on. Hopefully he had enough sense to get away from all of the commotion… she doubted his ability to keep his father's identity sometimes.

She turned decidedly to head towards the forest. She wouldn't be able to find him in this mess. As she began to shuffle towards the woods, however, the screams intensified and people began to rush in a different direction. The Dark Mark loomed menacingly above the treetops, green and brilliant against the night sky. Narcissa was almost knocked off-balance by a woman rushing past with two small children. Where was her child? Was her husband safe still?

As she began to feel almost nauseous in her worrying, she spied a platinum blonde head of hair coming out of the forest. She pushed violently through the throng of people to get to him. "Draco!" She called out. A pair of frightened gray eyes looked in her direction and she wanted to cry just at that look of terror in her son's eyes. She shoved through the crowd, twisting her ankle in the process, and grabbed onto her son protectively.

"Mother! What's going on?" He said fearfully. Narcissa held onto Draco for support, taking some of the weight off of her ankle as they tried to get far enough to the side of the crowd to be able to figure out what was happening without being stampeded.

"I'll explain everything as best as I can when we get back home," She swallowed hard, trying to get rid of some of the pain with her heavy breaths. "Hold on to my arm. I'll apparate us home. Your father will have to take care of himself."


End file.
